


Worth a Thousand Words

by Carmenlire



Series: Tumblr Prompts [27]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Brunch, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Friendship, Engagement, Established Relationship, Famous Magnus Bane, Fluff and Humor, Lawyer Alec Lightwood, M/M, Secret Relationship, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 08:03:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmenlire/pseuds/Carmenlire
Summary: “When are you going to tell everyone that your boyfriend's none other than famous actor Magnus Bane? It’s been what, over a year?”“Almost two,” Alec mutters.“Alec,” she exclaims. “You’ve been dating Magnus fortwo yearsand you still haven’t told your family? You know Izzy thinks you’re dating, like, a CIA agent or something, right?"Or, the timing's never right and Isabelle finds out that her brother is engaged through Instagram.





	Worth a Thousand Words

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by wirtanzenimregen: Alec's family don't know who his boyfriend is. . . until he gets engaged and his famous fiance posts a picture on Instagram.

Alec answers a text message as he sits down, only to look up when Clary snorts.

“You’re so smitten,” she teases, taking a drink of her bubble tea.

“Shut up,” Alec huffs. He turns his phone so that the screen faces down as he gives his friend his total attention.

Clary had been a total pain in his ass at first when they’d met in college. Taking pottery as an elective to fulfill his fine art credit, Alec had gotten to class early enough to have his pick of seats. Of course, he’d taken an empty table only for a bright-haired whirlwind to come crashing into the seat next to him just before class started.

She’d introduced herself cheerily and while Alec knows his own expression had probably been closer to a pained grimace, Clary had been unfazed. As things would go, they were assigned partners for the semester and after four months Alec had a fervent desire to never even _see_ a pottery wheel again and a reluctantly good friend.

Sighing as Clary just stares at him with an expectant look, Alec dryly wonders that he shouldn’t be surprised. In their early days, the two had bonded over talking about relationships. As luck would have it, Clary had ran into Isabelle during an art exhibition a few weeks after they’d met and Alec hasn’t known peace since.

“What, Fray.”

Alec’s tone isn’t what anyone would call welcoming but Clary doesn’t let that stop her as she perks up. She raises a brow, mouth upturned.

“When are you going to tell everyone? It’s been what, over a year?”

“Almost two,” Alec mutters and jerks away when Clary reaches over and slaps his shoulder.

“Alec,” she exclaims. “You’ve been dating Magnus for _two years_ and you still haven’t told your family? How the hell have you managed that? Why would you want to do that? You know Izzy thinks you’re dating, like, a CIA agent or something, right? For God’s sake, you two live together.”

Wincing, Alec shrugs defensively. “Magnus is gone a lot for shooting. Do you know how hard it is to explain his absences without making him sound like a black ops spy?” Running a hand through his hair, he goes on to mutter, “It just sorta happened? Magnus wanted to keep things quiet for awhile to stay out of the press and then it just snowballed from there.”

“Surely you could trust Izzy and Jace, though.” Clary’s tone is incredulous and Alec doesn't blame her. Whenever he stops to think about it, it does seem inordinately ridiculous that he’s been in a relationship without his siblings catching wind of the guy.

“It was exciting at first, you know that. Sneaking around, annoying Jace and Iz by refusing to say anything, especially since I know that Izzy’s halfway in love with him herself. But then it just got to the point where I didn’t know how to tell them. The timing never seemed right.”

Clary laughs softly. “What, tell them that their brother is dating Magnus Bane, two time Academy Award winner? Yeah, I’m sure that’d go over smoothly.”

“I can hear Izzy’s screams now,” Alec says grimly before sighing deeply. He flips his gaze up to meet Clary’s eyes. “I’m halfway surprised you haven’t told her.”

Sniffing delicately, Clary just offers, “I am capable of keeping secrets, you know. After we ran into Magnus that first time, when he called me that night and demanded _pretty boy’s_ phone number, I didn’t know if anything would come out of it. Magnus is a pretty private kinda guy when he’s not working.” She snorts. “And then, like you said, things snowballed. You two started dating-- and were dating for _months_ before I even realized-- and by then, I didn’t think it was my place. She’s _your_ sister,” she accuses with a glare.

Alec just huffs out a breath, beleaguered. “Yeah, trust me, I know.”

Leaning over the table, Clary’s tone drops to something encouraging and a little beseeching. “All I‘m saying is that this will bite you in the ass if you don’t tell everyone.”

“Know something I don’t, Fray?” Alec asks with a raised brow before glaring at her when she does nothing but smile.

The conversation moves on swiftly from there. While the two of them regularly hang out, their schedules have been so busy lately that it feels like ages since they last stopped for coffee and chatted until the sun started drooping in the sky.

Still, as Alec enjoys a rare afternoon out of the courtroom, he can’t help but wonder what the hell Clary was being so cryptic about.

 

Alec wakes to the feel of lips against his spine. Smiling into his pillow, he relaxes deeper into the mattress as he feels Magnus trace invisible lines along his back with a wandering hand before chasing a string of kisses across his shoulders.

“Morning, babe,” he finally manages to get out, voice hoarse with residual sleep.

Pausing in his ministrations, Magnus leans over him further until Alec shivers at the breath against his ear.

“Good morning, _fiance_.” The words are immediately followed by a lingering kiss just under his ear that’s more of a nuzzle against warm skin.

Alec can’t stop the grin that lights up his face and he doesn’t try to as he shifts until he’s on his back with Magnus looming over him. The morning sunlight streams through their gauzy curtains and paints them both in burnished shades of gold.

“That does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Humming, Magnus nods emphatically. “Oh, darling, you have no idea. How are you feeling this morning?”

Alec’s voice is traitorously soft as he brings a hand up and combs it through Magnus’s wild bedhead. His boyfriend-- fiance-- looks ridiculous and perfect and like everything he’s ever dreamed of. “Like the luckiest man in the world,” he replies and he watches Magnus’s mouth tip up in a faint but glowing smile.

Leaning down, Magnus catches Alec’s lips in a kiss that’s warm if not heated. Time spins out for long minutes, the two of them enjoying each other and this perfectly ordinary-- yet special all the same-- morning.

It’s a couple of hours later, after they’ve finished breakfast, when Magnus gets that gleam in his eye that Alec would know anywhere.

Laughing a little, he asks, “What’s going on in that head of yours? You have something up your sleeve.”

Resting his chin in his hand, Magnus gazes across the table at him, eyes moving between the engagement ring on Alec’s hand up to his face. “Can I paint your nails?”

Surprised, Alec blinks. “Why,” he asks, bemused. “It’s been months since you painted my nails.”

“Well,” Magnus drawls out, reaching for Alec’s hand and tangling their fingers together. “That ring looks lovely on you, if I do say so myself-- and I should know since I bought the damn thing-- and what better way to set it off than with a little polish?”

Alec brings their joined hands up to his mouth, placing a quick kiss right below Magnus’s knuckles. “Yeah, okay then,” he agrees easily. “Did you have a color in mind?”

Grinning widely, Magnus just winks at him. “Oh, Alexander, how could you even ask me that.”

He’s just finishing the last nail’s clear topcoat when he looks up at Alec.

Alec, who’d been smiling as he watched his fiance work-- Magnus was always so cute when he concentrated-- shakes his head a little as he sees the faint line between Magnus’s brows deepen.

“Hey,” he says softly. “What’s up?”

Straightening from where he’d been leaning over Alec’s nails, Magnus frowns a little and looks uncertain. That’s an expression that rarely comes across his face and Alec studies him, a little worried.

“I was just thinking,” Magnus starts, “That if we’re getting married then we’ll probably have to come clean, don’t you think? Really, we probably should’ve made an announcement awhile ago but I do so enjoy having you all to myself.”

Magnus’s voice lowers on the last few words and Alec finds himself smiling even as heat sweeps up his spine.

Careful with his still tacky polish, Alec grabs Magnus’s chin, urging him closer for a soft kiss. “Whenever you want,” he agrees easily as he pulls back. “I respect your job and you not wanting us to become fodder for the media. I know I can handle things, though, if you think you're ready.”

He rolls his eyes. “And I mean, come on. Everyone knows that Magnus Bane is off the market. They just don’t know who.”

“Fair enough.” Magnus laughs a little before he looks down and studies Alec’s hands, now painted with a dark blue polish with the faintest hint of shimmer.

Alec watches his love take a deep breath before his gaze flips back up and meets his. “So we’re doing this?”

“We’re doing this,” Alec repeats, voice firm. “How do you wanna play it?”

Magnus’s eyes go from his phone on the table to Alec’s hands-- back and forth a few times and Alec can pinpoint the moment he gets an idea.

“I’ll have to invite Jace and Izzy to brunch tomorrow and tell them the good news," Alec says, picking up on Magnus's train of thought. "I don’t want them hearing it from anyone else.”

“Whatever you say, darling,” Magnus agrees absently as he reaches for his phone and starts shifting Alec’s hand how he wants it. “I can meet you depending on the time. I do have that interview tomorrow afternoon in Midtown.”

Alec makes a faint noise of acknowledgement as he grins down at his ring, his stupidly perfect ring that Magnus had surprised him with last night. 

It’s a bold move but right now, in this moment, Alec feels like he could shout his love from the rooftops. It’s unforgivable drivel but it’s true and he’s excited to finally proclaim Magnus as his and, by the looks of things, his forever.

 

“Okay, hermano, you told us to be at Taki’s bright and early. Here we are, I’ve eaten two plates of appetizers, and you have yet to tell us what’s so important that you dragged me from my Sunday morning ritual with Clary. Spill.”

Alec takes a bracing drink of his coffee as he looks between Izzy and Jace. Clary’s next to Isabelle trying valiantly to swallow her smile, though Alec sees the discreet thumbs up she throws his way.

He clears his throat. While one arm rests on the table as he fiddles with his coffee mug, the other hand is under the table and he tries to calm his nerves by playing with his ring, spinning it slowly to ease the vise that’s clamped down on his throat.

He’s not worried about his family’s reactions. They’ve heard him gush about his boyfriend enough to know that he’s a good man and that he makes Alec happy. Still, Magnus is famous and Alec’s kept this under wraps for a surprisingly long time.

Distantly, he has a moment to wonder that the timing just never fucking fits.

As he starts thinking about what to say-- and yeah, he did practice but Alec’s never been good at remembering speeches when they’re not in front of a judge-- he’s vaguely aware of Isabelle studying his nails. He catches the smile that spreads across her face before her expression turns thoughtful, her eyes narrowing.

Alec’s just opened his mouth when Isabelle speaks over him.

“Oh my God,” she exclaims, eyes widening but laser focused on his hands. “ _Oh my God, Alec_.”

Her mouth is hanging open and Jace is staring at her like she’s lost her damned mind as Alec deflates and Clary stifles the giggles that he just knows she’s hiding behind her hand.

Isabelle stands up from the table abruptly, her chair scraping the floor loud in the cacophonous din of the morning crowd.

Pointing a sharp finger at him, Izzy demands, “Show me your other hand, Alec.”

Sighing, Alec obeys and climbs to his feet. He holds out his left hand in front of Izzy and watches as she gasps before immediately reaching for him, thumb brushing over his ring.

“I ought to kill you,” she mutters, sounding dazed. Her eyes are glued to his hand before she lifts her head with, what looks like, herculean effort. “Explain _everything_.”

Alec winces as he sits back down, playing with his ring blatantly now. His sister’s voice had been sugary sweet as she spoke through clenched teeth. 

He swallows hard. Before he can say anything, though, Jace is talking.

“What the hell’s going on,” he asks, confused. “You got engaged-- I’d have to be blind not to see that engagement ring-- but why is Iz about to murder you and everyone you’ve ever cared about?”

“Because,” Isabelle grits out, "He’s engaged to Magnus fucking Bane, movie star and fashion icon.”

At that, Jace does a double take. “Wait-- _what_.”

“Yeah, about that,” Alec says, clearing his throat. He looks at Izzy. “How did you know?”

“I saw your hands. They were familiar but it took me awhile to place where I’d seen that color lately. Wouldn’t you know, I saw it on Instagram yesterday. It was a post by Magnus of a hand with that color polish and a ring and the caption _He said yes_. It’s all anyone can talk about, the prospect of Magnus taking his relationship public. If only I knew that my brother’s boyfriend-- who I thought was some sort of super top secret spy-- was the man in question.”

Running a hand through his hair, Alec leans back in his seat, deflating. “I should’ve known you’d check Instagram before brunch.”

He doesn’t get to say anything else before there’s a whirlwind heading toward them. Magnus drops a quick kiss on top of Alec’s head before plopping down in the chair next to him. He’s grinning and Alec’s the only one who sees the nerves that are lighting him up from the inside.

Without thinking, he reaches over and takes Magnus’s hand, sweeping a thumb over his to steady his fiance. Magnus squeezes his hand, throwing him a look of thanks, before turning toward the table.

“Hello, I’m Magnus and I’m Alexander’s--”

“Fiance.” Isabelle says the word with Magnus and the table sits in stunned silence for a minute. 

Jace is the first one to rally.

He holds out a hand for Magnus to shake before tilting his head in Alec’s direction. “We heard you proposed to Alec last night. Congratulations but I just have one question.” He pauses for a brief moment and the glint in his eye has Alec wanting to preemptively sink to the floor. “Are you sure you want to tie yourself forever to a guy that has the social life of a ninety year old great-grandmother?”

Alec doesn’t have time to take offence, to offer a sharp rebuttal, before Magnus is responding.

His fiance-- the love of his life, the very beat of his heart-- just winks at Jace, settling in his seat as he reaches for Alec’s coffee with his free hand.

“You know,” he starts, and Alec rolls his eyes at Magnus’s thoughtful, facetious tone. “I daresay the grandmother would be more lively than Alec-- especially when he’s on a case. Have you ever played cards with him? He’d be kicked out of bridge club before he could be offered a hard candy.”

Jace barks out a laugh and it breaks the tension. Alec joins in even if it’s at his expense and feels relief that everything really will work out alright. He’ll have to answer a million and one questions from Izzy and he’s already bracing himself for Jace’s ribbing but as he introduces Magnus to his family and finally sees one of his most anticipated daydreams play out, Alec’s comfortable and happy and so full of joy that he barely knows what to do with himself.

Brunch is a splendid success and becomes a sort of tradition for the Lightwood siblings and their significant others. Isabelle forgives him after bleeding every single detail out of him and he breathes a quiet sigh of relief when her ire turns toward Clary.

Later that evening, when Alec sees a picture of him and Magnus splashed across the front of TMZ, he chuckles and thinks, _This is it_.

"Hey babe," he calls out from where he's laying in bed, scrolling aimlessly on his phone.

"Yes, darling?" Magnus's voice echoes from the bathroom where he's taking his makeup up and going through his night time routine.

"It looks like our secret's out. People saw us walking today and know who I am."

Stepping into the bedroom, Magnus studies Alec for a minute before smiling and coming over to his side of the bed. He looks down at him softly before combing a hand through his hair.

"Don't you know, Alexander?" He winks. "The best news is when people think they're pulling something over on someone."

Humming a little, Alec looks back down at his phone. He takes a single breath, turning his head slightly to kiss Magnus's wrist. "Out of the frying pan," he murmurs.

Magnus's voice is just as quiet-- and just as confident-- as he replies, "And into the fire."

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr or twitter @carmenlire!


End file.
